Well, last week my 360 started giving me the "Unplayable Disc" error. There is no grinding or spinning. In fact there is no spinning at all. So I unplugged everything, detached HD and memory card. Then I rebooted and it worked fine for a couple more days. It then gave me the error again. The error is the same for all games and DVDs, etc....I tried some of the techniques I used before and it still doesn't work. I also tried the trick of sliding a thick piece of paper in the slot above the disk tray and moving it around a bit.

My console is my 2nd one (first one was a RROD replacement). It is out of warranty for non-RROD issues by 4 months. The unit has a Hitachi drive.

What should I do?
Option A - pay $99 and have it repaired by Microsoft (I would talk to a supervisor to negotiate a discount), would probably still get a refurb unit. Can I beg to get a new unit? I also get a new 1 year warranty with this.

Option B - buy new XBOX arcade version for $199, this way I have a new unit

Option C - try to repair myself (this isn't a stretch for me, I'm an electrical engineer...plus it seems like everyone and their mother have a "How to repair XBOX 360" videos on youtube)

ok here's what I would do. Stick something small into the back so it jams the fans make It run a big game like oblivion or something. Monitor the 360 and keep it on for a LONG time. Eventually the 360 will give up and overheat. Something will melt and u will have a RROD. iPod typing sucks btw...

ok here's what I would do. Stick something small into the back so it jams the fans make It run a big game like oblivion or something. Monitor the 360 and keep it on for a LONG time. Eventually the 360 will give up and overheat. Something will melt and u will have a RROD. iPod typing sucks btw...

true, he can just "let it burn" and claim warranty/manufacturer defect, which it really is since he didn't mess the disc reader up....so sad but true, lots of 360s overheat